The aim of the article was to explore the respect reported by doctors for individual patients by examining the following questions: How is the respect for patients reported by doctors changing? What patient characteristics are associated with higher respect reported by physicians? Do patients accurately perceive the level of respect of the doctor? Are there specific communication behaviours associated with physician reported respect for patients? 215 patient-physician encounters with 30 different primary care physicians were studied. After each encounter, the doctor rated the level of respect he or she had for that patient, using the following item: \"Compared to other patients, I have a lot of respect for this patient\" on a five-point scale, between strongly agree and strongly disagree. Patients completed a post-visit questionnaire that included a parallel respect item: \"This doctor has great respect for me\". The respect reported by the doctors varied between patients. Doctors strongly agreed that they gave respect to 73 patients (34%). Doctors reported higher levels of respect for older patients and patients they knew well. The level of respect physicians showed for individual patients was not significantly related to that patient's gender, race, education or health status. While 45% patients overestimated the doctor's respect, 38% gave an estimate of exactly how the doctor rated them, and 16% underestimated the doctor's respect. Those who were least respectful of their doctor were the least likely to perceive themselves as highly respectful; only 36% of the least respectful patients compared to 59% and 61% of highly and moderately respectful patients perceived themselves as highly respectful. Respect ratings of doctors vary from patient to patient and are primarily related to familiarity rather than sociodemographic characteristics. Patients are able to perceive when doctors respect them, although when they are not accurate, they tend to overestimate the doctor's respect. Doctors who show more respect to individual patients provide more information and express more positive emotions during visits with these patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n